HISTORY OF THE McMULLEN NAME (Source www.surnamedb.com)

Recorded in many forms including McMullan, McMullen, Mullan, Mullen, Mullens, O'Mullan, and even MacMillan, this is a Gaelic surname. It derives from the ancient name Maolan, meaning 'The tonsured one', a reference to a holyman who shaved his head as a sign of his religious zeal. The surname in its slightly different spellings, is one of the most popular in both Ireland and Scotland.

In Ireland in Counties Antrim and Down, it is of Scottish descent, and was borne by many of the 17th century settlers in Ulster. The sept O'Mullan originated from County Galway, and arguably although the origin is the same, is not directly related, being descended from a 6th century king of Connacht called Maollan.

Early examples of recordings in Scotland include John MacMulan, the bailie of Glasgow, 1454 to 1487, and Sir Duncan MacMolane, said to have a been a pope's knight or seneschal in 1452. The name is widespread in Scotland as MacMillan. In Ireland Shane Crosagh O'Mullan of Derry, evicted from his property in 1729, took to the mountains and led a Robin Hood type of existence until his capture, whilst Ann, the daughter of Alexander McMullen, was christened on April 5th 1734, at Saintfield, in County Down.

The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Gillemor MacMolan. He was a juror on an inquest in Lanarkshire, Scotland, dated 1263, in the "Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, 1124 to 1707." Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

Our McMullen family including Mitchell, Strong, Paragee & Cook Small numbers by a name refer to personal number in listing eg MARGARET ^3McMULLEN ~ see 3

GENERATION ONE:

1. ~ ~ ~ MICHAEL McMULLEN was born between 1793 and 1797 in Rathfriland, County Down, Ireland. In 1812 he enlisted under-age with the 80^th Regiment and in 1819 transferred to the 69^th Regiment. He served in the East Indies between 1814 and 1824. Michael married ELLEN McELVOY and in 1848 they came to New Zealand on the Fencible Ship Ann with their four daughters. The family settled in Otahuhu township and also had a small farm.

Children of MICHAEL McMULLEN and ELLEN McELVOY were:

MARY ² McMULLEN, born 1825.

MARGARET ³ McMULLEN, born 1826.

ROSE ANN ⁴ McMULLEN, born 1832 in Charlemont, Armagh, Ireland.

ELLEN ⁵ McMULLEN, born around 1843 in Ireland.

Michael died on 10 April 1859 of pleurisy and enteritis aged 62 years. Ellen died in 1864 in Otahuhu aged 57 years.

> Refer to the Royal New Zealand Fencibles for more information on families who came to NZ under this scheme, including the ships they arrived on and villages they settled.

GENERATION TWO:

2. ~ ~ ~ MARY McMULLEN (MICHAEL) was born in 1825 in Ireland and was the eldest daughter of MICHAEL McMULLEN and ELLEN McELVOY. Mary arrived in New Zealand with her family on 16 May 1848 on the Fencible Ship Ann.

Mary married HENRY MITCHELL on 16 July 1848 in Onehunga, Auckland and they settled in Otahuhu. Henry was born on 24 September 1812 in Putney, Surrey, England and had also arrived in New Zealand on the ship Ann.

> Refer to the MITCHELL family for more information about the family of Henry and the children of Henry and Mary.

Mary died on 20 June 1865. Henry died on 25 August 1901, also in Otahuhu. They were both buried at the Holy Trinity Cemetery in Otahuhu.

3. ~ ~ ~ MARGARET McMULLEN (MICHAEL) was born in 1826 in Ireland and was the second daughter of MICHAEL MCMULLEN and ELLEN McELVOY. Margaret arrived in New Zealand with her family on 16 May 1848 on the Fencible Ship Ann.

Margaret married GEORGE STRONG in July 1848 in Onehunga. George was born in Rotherhithe, England around 1826 and was employed as a Sailor on the Ann.

Children of MARGARET McMULLEN and GEORGE STRONG were:

o ROBERT STRONG, born 1849 in Auckland. Robert married JANE MARGARET CLEAVE on 6 June 1873.

o ELLEN STRONG, born 1851 in Auckland. Ellen married HENRY (HARRY) JONES on 30 October 1873.

o GEORGE WILLIAM STRONG, born 1853 in Auckland. George married EMMA JANE FULLJAMES on 21 December 1875.

o CHARLES JOHN STRONG, born 21 September 1855 in Auckland. Charles married SARAH ANN JAMES on 12 October 1876.

o EDWARD STRONG, born 17 May 1857 in Auckland. Edward married ELIZABETH NELSON on 2 May 1878.

o ALFRED STRONG, born 1859 in Auckland. Alfred married ELIZA ANN MATIN on 12 December 1883 in Thames, NZ.

o JOHN STRONG, born 1862; died as an infant.

o FREDERICK STRONG, born 1863 in Auckland. Frederick married ELIZA MARY AGNES CONNOP in 1885.

George died on 27 October 1896 in Auckland. Margaret died on 21 July 1911 in Auckland.

4. ~ ~ ~ ROSE ANNE McMULLEN (MICHAEL) was born in 1832 in Charlemont, Armagh, Ireland. She arrived in New Zealand with her family on 16 May 1848 on the Fencible Ship Ann.

Rose married (1) ANGELO PARAGEE on 4 July 1849 at St Patricks Catholic Church in Auckland. Angelo was a Boatman at the time of their marriage and was the son of JOSEPH PARAGEE and CATHERINE LANGELKA.

Children of ROSE McMULLEN and JOSEPH PARAGREE were:

o MARY ANN PARAGEE, born 1850; died as an infant.

o SUSAN PARAGEE, born 1851.

o MARGARET PARAGEE, born 1855.

Angelo died in a scrub fire in South Auckland on 29 October 1854.

On 24 August 1858 Rose married (2) GEORGE SMITH (also know as CHARLES SMITH) at Otahuhu. George was born in Suffolk, England and was the son of THOMAS SMITH and LUCY WOODARD. He was a Soldier in the 58th Foot Regiment.

George died on 22 September 1910 in Otahuhu, Auckland. Rose died on 11 June 1915 also in Otahuhu.

5. ~ ~ ~ ELLEN McMULLEN (MICHAEL) was born around 1843 in Ireland. Ellen arrived in New Zealand with her family on 16 May 1848 on the Fencible Ship Ann.

Ellen married JOHN COOK towards the end of 1862 at the residence of Henry Mitchell in Otahuhu. John was a Shoemaker and was aged 30 years at the time of their marriage.

Possible children of ELLEN McMULLEN and JOHN COOK (per NZ Birth Index) were:

o JAMES COOK, born 1863.

o MARY COOK, born 1865.

o ANN COOK, born 1867.

o JOHN COOK, born 1869.

o CATHERINE COOK, born 1873.

Please note that in keeping with genealogy protocol I have not included information about later generations which may include living persons.
If you have a family connection please contact me for further information.

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